2012 NCAA Football Predictions

Atlantic
1. Clemson (11-2, 7-1)
2. Florida State (8-4, 5-3)
3. NC State (7-5, 4-4)
4. Wake Forest (5-7, 3-5)
5. Maryland (5-7, 3-5)
6. Boston College (4-8, 2-6)
Coastal
1. Virginia Tech (10-3, 6-2)
2. Miami (7-5, 5-3)
3. Georgia Tech (7-5, 4-4)
4. North Carolina (7-5, 4-4)
5. Virginia (7-5, 4-4)
6. Duke (4-8, 1-7)

ACC Championship - Clemson over Virginia Tech

Offensive POY - Sammy Watkins  WR/Clemson
Defensive POY - Brandon Jenkins  DE/Florida State
Game of the Year - 10/20: Virginia Tech at Clemson



1. Oklahoma (12-0, 9-0)
2. Texas (9-3, 6-3)
2. TCU (9-3, 6-3)
4. West Virginia (9-3, 6-3)
5. Oklahoma State (8-4, 5-4)
6. Kansas State (8-4, 5-4)
7. Baylor (7-5, 4-5)
8. Iowa State (5-7, 3-6)
9. Texas Tech (5-7, 2-7)
10. Kansas (3-9, 0-9)

Offensive POY - Landry Jones  QB/Oklahoma
Defensive POY - Jackson Jeffcoat  DE/Texas
Game of the Year - 10/13: Oklahoma vs Texas at Dallas



1. South Florida (9-3, 5-2)
2. Louisville (9-3, 5-2)
3. Cincinnati (8-4, 4-3)
4. UConn (7-5, 4-3)
5. Pittsburgh (7-5, 4-3)
6. Rutgers (6-6, 2-5)
7. Temple (5-6, 2-5)
8. Syracuse (4-8, 2-5)

Offensive POY - BJ Daniels  QB/South Florida
Defensive POY - Khaseem Greene  LB/Rutgers
Game of the Year - 10/20: South Florida at Louisville



Leaders
1. Wisconsin (11-2, 6-2)
2. Ohio State (9-3, 5-3)
3. Illinois (7-5, 4-4)
4. Penn State (6-6, 3-5)
5. Purdue (5-7, 2-6)
6. Indiana (4-8, 1-7)

Legends
1. Michigan (10-3, 7-1)
2. Michigan State (9-3, 5-3)
3. Nebraska (9-3, 5-3)
4. Iowa (9-3, 5-3)
5. Northwestern (7-5, 3-5)
6. Minnesota (5-7, 2-6)

Big 10 Championship - Wisconsin over Michigan

Offensive POY - Montee Ball  RB/Wisconsin
Defensive POY - William Gholston  DE/Michigan State
Game of the Year - 10/27: Michigan State at Wisconsin



East
1. Central Florida (10-3, 7-1)
2. Southern Miss (8-4, 7-1)
3. Marshall (6-6, 4-4)
4. East Carolina (5-7, 3-5)
5. UAB (3-9, 1-7)
6. Memphis (2-10, 0-8)

West
1. SMU (8-5, 7-1)
2. Houston (8-4, 6-2)
3. Tulsa (6-6, 4-4)
4. UTEP (5-7, 4-4)
5. Tulane (4-8, 3-5)
6. Rice (3-9, 2-6)

C-USA Championship - Central Florida over SMU

Offensive POY - Zach Line  RB/SMU
Defensive POY - Ja'Gared Davis  LB/SMU
Game of the Year: 10/13: Southern Miss at Central Florida


East
1. Ohio (10-3, 7-1)
2. Bowling Green (8-4, 6-2)
3. Kent State (7-5, 6-2)
4. Miami (OH) (5-7, 4-4)
5. Akron (3-9, 2-6)
6. Buffalo (3-9, 2-6)
7. UMass (0-12, 0-8)

West
1. Northern Illinois (10-3, 7-1)
2. Western Michigan (7-5, 6-2)
3. Ball State (7-5, 5-3)
4. Toledo (6-6, 4-4)
5. Eastern Michigan (3-9, 2-6)
6. Central Michigan (2-10, 1-7)

MAC Championship - Northern Illinois over Ohio

Offensive POY - Tyler Tettleton  QB/Ohio
Defensive POY - Roosevelt Nix  DE/Kent State
Game of the Year - 11/7: Bowling Green at Ohio



1. Boise State (11-1, 8-0)
2. Nevada (10-2, 7-1)
3. Wyoming (8-4, 5-3)
4. Fresno State (7-5, 5-3)
5. Air Force (6-6, 4-4)
6. Colorado State (5-7, 3-5)
7. San Diego State (5-7, 3-5)
8. UNLV (4-9, 3-5)
9. Hawaii (4-8, 2-6)
10. New Mexico (2-11, 0-8)

Offensive POY - Robbie Rouse  RB/Fresno State
Defensive POY - Michael Atkinson  DL/Boise State
Game of the Year - 11/24: Boise State at Nevada



North
1. Oregon (13-0, 9-0)
2. Stanford (8-4, 6-3)
3. Oregon State (7-5, 5-4)
4. Washington (7-5, 5-4)
5. Cal (6-6, 5-4)
6. Washington State (5-7, 2-7)

South
1. USC (11-2, 8-1)
2. Utah (8-4, 5-4)
3. Arizona (5-7, 3-6)
4. UCLA (5-7, 3-6)
5. Arizona State (4-8, 2-7)
6. Colorado (3-9, 1-8)

Pac-12 Championship - Oregon over USC

Offensive POY - Matt Barkley  QB/USC
Defensive POY - Star Lotolelei  DL/Utah
Game of the Year - 11/3: Oregon at USC



East
1. Georgia (11-2, 7-1)
2. South Carolina (9-3, 5-3)
3. Florida (7-5, 4-4)
4. Missouri (7-5, 3-5)
5. Tennessee (6-6, 2-6)
6. Vanderbilt (5-7, 2-6)
7. Kentucky (4-8, 1-7)

West
1. Alabama (12-1, 7-1)
2. LSU (11-1, 7-1)
3. Arkansas (10-2, 6-2)
4. Mississippi State (9-3, 5-3)
5. Auburn (7-5, 4-4)
6. Texas A&M (6-6, 2-6)
7. Ole Miss (4-8, 1-7)

SEC Championship - Alabama over Georgia

Offensive POY - Marcus Lattimore  RB/South Carolina
Defensive POY - Jarvis Jones  LB/Georgia
Game of the Year - 11/3: Alabama at LSU



1. Troy (10-2, 8-0)
2. Florida International (8-4, 7-1)
3. UL-Lafayette (8-4, 6-2)
4. Arkansas State (7-5, 5-3)
5. UL-Monroe (5-7, 5-3)
6. Middle Tennessee (5-7, 4-4)
7. Western Kentucky (3-9, 2-6)
8. North Texas (3-9, 2-6)
9. Florida Atlantic (2-10, 1-7)
10. South Alabama (2-11, 0-8)

Offensive POY - Blaine Gautier  QB/UL-Lafayette
Defensive POY - Winston Fraser  LB/Florida International
Game of the Year - 10/20: Florida International at Troy



1. Louisiana Tech (9-3, 6-0)
2. Utah State (8-4, 5-1)
3. San Jose State (5-7, 4-2)
4. Idaho (4-8, 3-3)
5. Texas State (3-8, 2-4)
6. UT-San Antonio (5-7, 1-5)
7. New Mexico State (2-10, 0-6)

Offensive POY - Colby Cameron  QB/Louisiana Tech
Defensive POY - McKade Brady  DB/Utah State
Game of the Year - 11/17: Utah State at Louisiana Tech



1. Notre Dame (7-5)
2. BYU (7-5)
3. Army (6-6)
4. Navy (6-6)

2012 PGA Championship - Weekend

There is a healthy mix of star power and potential underdog stories at the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend of the season's final major. Thursday produced some low scores, as Carl Pettersson took the lead with a 6 under, 66. Friday was a different story. The wind gusts blowing off of the Atlantic Ocean caused some of the world's best players to look clueless. Pettersson stilll holds a share of the lead with some familiar faces, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh. This is the 3rd major in a row that Tiger has looked poised to end his major drought heading into the weekend. Vihay Singh, who was once one of the best golfers in the world, has not been relevant in years. Jason Dufner was my pre-tournament pick to win the Wanamaker Trophy, but he barely made the cut by shooting +6 through the first 2 rounds. I still have 4 of my top 10 picks in contention to win the PGA. I am expecting one of these men to walk away from Kiawah a winner, not Tiger Woods.

Pre-Tournament Favorites:

Jason Dufner - USA

Current Standing: +6, T67

Lee Westwood - England

Current Standing: +7, missed cut

Zach Johnson - USA

Current Standing: +1, T15

Adam Scott - Australia

Current Standing: -1, T7

Luke Donald - England

Current Standing: +6, T67

Rory McIlroy - Northern Ireland

Current Standing: -2, T5

Dustin Johnson - USA

Curent Standing: +6, T67

Matt Kuchar - USA

Current Standing: +10, missed cut

Keegan Bradley - USA

Current Standing: +1, T15

David Toms - USA

Current Standing: +6, T67

New Weekend Picks:

1. Rory McIlroy - Northern Ireland (7 to 1)

Current Standing: -2, T5

2. Adam Scott - Australia (12 to 1)

Current Standing: -1, T7

3. Tiger Woods - USA (2 to 1)

Current Standing: -4, T1

4. Zach Johnson - USA (50 to 1)

Current Standing: +1, T15

5. Keegan Bradley - USA (50 to 1)

Current Standing: +1, T15

Weekend Predition - I went into the tournament thinking that Jason Dufner's time had come. He barely mad ethe cut by producing a 36-hole score of +6. There are 3 men tied atop the leaderbaord as of now (carl Pettersson, Tiger Woods, and Vijay Singh). Pettersson has never felt this type of pressure. Tiger has watched 2 majors slip away from this same position already this year. And Vijay is past his prime. There is a man lurking just outside of this group that is more than capable of winning at Kiawah. That man is Rory McIlroy. The young phenom has struggled a bit since winning the US Open last year, but he is primed to reannounce himself to the world this weekend. What a final pairing it would be if we could get Rory and Tiger together. Ultimately, I like McIlroy to win his 2nd major and walk away with the Wanamaker Trophy.

2012 NCAA Football Preview

The summer is nearing an end, which can only mean one thing - it is almost football season. Today we begin our look at the key places on the college football field that could lead to a championship. This will lead us into next week's conference by conference predictions and bowl projections for the upcoming college football season.

It undoubtedly takes a complete team effort to win a championship at the collegiate level. But in my experience, it has become evident that some positions can mean more than others.

The offensive backfield is probably the most important piece to the championship puzzle. After all the last 13 Heisman Trophy winners have lined up in the offensive backfield. Lining up a star at QB or RB could very well mean a special season for your team.

You've all heard the saying, defense wins championships. Take 2011 for example. Alabama and LSU rode the nation's top defenses in the BCS National Championship Game. The Crimson Tide showed their dominance by pitching the 1st shutout ever seen in the title game during the BCS era.

The last element to having a championship season is coaching. Recruiting is half the battle for a head coach in college football, but you have to be able to get the most out of your players. Having the right guy making the calls on the sideline can make a huge difference.

Here is a conference by conference look at how these positions rank (The projected starter at the QB and RB positions is in parenthesis).


QB
1. Clemson (Tajh Boyd)
2. Florida State (EJ Manual)
3. Virginia Tech (Logan Thomas)
4. NC State (Mike Glennon)
5. North Carolina (Bryn Renner)
6. Wake Forest (Tanner Price)
7. Georgia Tech (Tevin Washington)
8. Miami (Stephen Morris)
9. Duke (Sean Renfree)
10. Virginia (Michael Rocco)
11. Boston College (Chase Rettig)
12. Maryland (CJ Brown)

RB
1. North Carolina (Giovani Bernard)
2. Clemson (Andre Ellington)
3. Georgia Tech (Orwin Smith)
4. Virginia (Perry Jones)
5. NC State (James Washington)
6. Boston College (Rolandan Finch)
7. Wake Forest (Josh Harris)
8. Miami (Mike James)
9. Florida State (Chris Thompson)
10. Virginia Tech (Michael Holmes)
11. Duke (Desmond Scott)
12. Maryland (Justus Pickett)

Defense
1. Florida State
2. Virginia Tech
3. Clemson
4. Virginia
5. NC State
6. Miami
7. North Carolina
8. Maryland
9. Georgia Tech
10. Wake Forest
11. Boston College
12. Duke

Coaching
1. Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer)
2. Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson)
3. Clemson (Dabo Swinney)
4. Wake Forest (Jim Grobe)
5. Maryland (Randy Edsall)
6. Florida State (Jimbo Fisher)
7. NC State (Tom O'Brien)
8. Miami (Al Golden)
9. North Carolina (Larry Fedora)
10. Virginia (Mike London)
11. Duke (David Cutcliffe)
12. Boston College (Frank Spaziani)


QB
1. Oklahoma (Landry Jones)
2. West Virginia (Geno Smith)
3. Kansas State (Collin Klein)
4. TCU (Casey Pachall)
5. Texas Tech (Seth Doege)
6. Baylor (Nick Florence)
7. Oklahoma State (Wes Lunt)
8. Kansas (Dayne Crist)
9. Texas (David Ash)
10. Iowa State (Jared Barnett)

RB
1. Oklahoma State (Joseph Randle)
2. Texas (Malcolm Brown)
3. Oklahoma (Dominique Whaley)
4. Texas Tech (Eric Stephens)
5. TCU (Ed Wesley)
6. Iowa State (James White)
7. West Virginia (Shawne Alston)
8. Baylor (Jarred Salubi)
9. Kansas (Tony Pierson)
10. Kansas State (John Hubert)

Defense
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Kansas State
4. TCU
5. Oklahoma State
6. Iowa State
7. West Virginia
8. Baylor
9. Kansas
10. Texas Tech

Coaching
1. Oklahoma (Bob Stoops)
2. Texas (Mack Brown)
3. TCU (Gary Patterson)
4. Kansas State (Bill Snyder)
5. Oklahoma State (Mike Gundy)
6. West Virginia (Dana Holgorsen)
7. Texas Tech (Tommy Tuberville)
8. Kansas (Charlie Weis)
9. Baylor (Art Briles)
10. Iowa State (Paul Rhoads)


QB
1. South Florida (BJ Daniels)
2. Louisville (Teddy Bridgewater)
3. Syracuse (Ryan Nassib)
4. Temple (Chris Coyer)
5. Pittsburgh (Tino Sunseri)
6. Rutgers (Gary Nova)
7. Cincinnati (Munchie Legaux)
8. UConn (Chandler Whitmer)

RB
1. Pittsburgh (Ray Graham)
2. UConn (Lyle McCombs)
3. Temple (Matt Brown)
4. Rutgers (Juwan Jamison)
5. Louisville (Dominique Brown)
6. South Florida (Demitrus Murray)
7. Cincinnati (George Winn)
8. Syracuse (Jerome Smith)

Defense
1. Rutgers
2. South Florida
3. Louisville
4. UConn
5. Cincinnati
6. Pittsburgh
7. Syracuse
8. Temple

Coaching
1. South Florida (Skip Holtz)
2. Cincinnati (Butch Jones)
3. UConn (Paul Pasqualoni)
4. Louisville (Charlie Strong)
5. Syracuse (Doug Marrone)
6. Temple (Steve Addazio)
7. Pittsburgh (Paul Chryst)
8. Rutgers (Kyle Flood)


QB
1. Michigan (Denard Robinson)
2. Ohio State (Braxton Miller)
3. Nebraska (Taylor Martinez)
4. Iowa (James Vandenberg)
5. Illinois (Nathan Scheelhasse)
6. Wisconsin (Danny O'Brien)
7. Purdue (Caleb TerBush)
8. Northwestern (Kain Colter)
9. Minnesota (MarQueis Gray)
10. Penn State (Matt McGloin)
11. Michigan State (Andrew Maxwell)
12. Indiana (Tre Roberson)

RB
1. Wisconsin (Montee Ball)
2. Nebraska (Rex Burkhead)
3. Michigan State (Le'Veon Bell)
4. Michigan (Fitzgerald Toussaint)
5. Indiana (Stephen Houston)
6. Ohio State (Carlos Hyde)
7. Penn State (Curtis Dukes)
8. Purdue (Akeem Shavers)
9. Illinois (Donovann Young)
10. Northwestern (Mike Trumpy)
11. Iowa (Damon Bullock)
12. Minnesota (James Gillum)

Defense
1. Michigan State
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Illinois
5. Nebraska
6. Wisconsin
7. Penn State
8. Purdue
9. Iowa
10. Northwestern
11. Minnesota
12. Indiana

Coaching
1. Ohio State (Urban Meyer)
2. Wisconsin (Bret Bielema)
3. Iowa (Kirk Ferentz)
4. Michigan (Brady Hoke)
5. Michigan State (Mark Dantonio)
6. Nebraska (Bo Pelini)
7. Northwestern (Pat Fitzgerald)
8. Purdue (Danny Hope)
9. Minnesota (Jerry Kill)
10. Illinois (Tim Beckman)
11. Indiana (Kevin Wilson)
12. Penn State (Bill O'Brien)


QB
1. Houston (David Piland)
2. Central Florida (Blake Bortles)
3. Marshall (Rakeem Cato)
4. UAB (Johnathan Perry)
5. UTEP (Nick Lamaison)
6. SMU (Garrett Gilbert)
7. Rice (Taylor McHargue)
8. Tulsa (Cody Green)
9. Tulane (Ryan Griffin)
10. East Carolina (Rio Johnson)
11. Southern Miss (Chris Campbell)
12. Memphis (Jacob Karam)

RB
1. SMU (Zach Line)
2. Tulane (Orleans Darkwa)
3. Tulsa (Trey Watts)
4. Houston (Charles Sims)
5. Marshall (Tron Martinez)
6. Rice (Sam McGuffie)
7. Central Florida (Latavius Murray)
8. Southern Miss (Kendrick Hardy)
9. East Carolina (Reggie Bullock)
10. UAB (Greg Franklin)
11. Memphis (Jerrell Rhodes)
12. UTEP (Nathan Jeffery)

Defense
1. SMU
2. Houston
3. Central Florida
4. Southern Miss
5. Tulsa
6. Tulane
7. East Carolina
8. Marshall
9. UTEP
10. Rice
11. UAB
12. Memphis

Coaching
1. SMU (June Jones)
2. Central Florida (George O'Leary)
3. UTEP (Mike Price)
4. Marshall (Doc Holliday)
5. East Carolina (Ruffin McNeill)
6. Tulsa (Bill Blankenship)
7. Rice (David Bailiff)
8. Houston (Tony Levine)
9. Southern Miss (Ellis Johnson)
10. UAB (Garrick McGee)
11. Tulane (Curtis Johnson)
12. Memphis (Justin Fuente)


QB
1. Western Michigan (Alex Carder)
2. Ohio (Tyler Tettleton)
3. Miami (OH) (Zac Dysert)
4. Bowling Green (Matt Schilz)
5. Toledo (Terrance Owens)
6. Central Michigan (Ryan Radcliff)
7. Ball State (Keith Wenning)
8. Kent State (Spencer Keith)
9. Eastern Michigan (Alex Gillett)
10. Northern Illinois (Jordan Lynch)
11. UMass (Kellen Pagel)
12. Akron (Clayton Moore)
13. Buffalo (Alex Zordich)

RB
1. Buffalo (Brandon Oliver)
2. Bowling Green (Anthon Samuel)
3. Akron (Jawon Chisolm)
4. Ball State (Jahwan Edwards)
5. Kent State (Taryion Durham)
6. Toledo (David Fluellen)
7. Eastern Michigan (Dominique Sherrer)
8. Ohio (Beau Blankenship)
9. Northern Illinois (Akeem Daniels)
10. Western Michigan (Brian Fields)
11. Central Michigan (Zurlon Tipton)
12. Miami (OH) (Dawan Scott)
13. UMass (Alan Williams)

Defense
1. Kent State
2. Ohio
3. Bowling Green
4. Toledo
5. Northern Illinois
6. Miami (OH)
7. Buffalo
8. Western Michigan
9. Eastern Michigan
10. Central Michigan
11. Ball State
12. UMass
13. Akron

Coaching
1. Ohio (Frank Solich)
2. Akron (Terry Bowden)
3. Western Michigan (Bill Cubit)
4. Ball State (Pete Lembo)
5. Bowling Green (Dave Clawson)
6. Northern Illinois (Dave Doeren)
7. Kent State (Darrell Hazell)
8. Eastern Michigan (Ron English)
9. Miami (OH) (Don Treadwell)
10. Central Michigan (Dan Enos)
11. Buffalo (Jeff Quinn)
12. Toledo (Matt Campbell)
13. UMass (Charley Molnar)

QB
1. Fresno State (Derek Carr)
2. Wyoming (Brett Smith)
3. San Diego State (Ryan Katz)
4. Nevada (Cody Fajardo)
5. Boise State (Joe Southwick)
6. Air Force (Connor Dietz)
7. Hawaii (David Graves)
8. Colorado State (Garrett Grayson)
9. UNLV (Nick Sherry)
10. New Mexico (BR Holbrook)

RB
1. Fresno State (Robbie Rouse)
2. Colorado State (Chris Nwoke)
3. Boise State (DJ Harper)
4. UNLV (Tim Cornett)
5. Nevada (Stefphon Jefferson)
6. Air Force (Jon Lee)
7. Wyoming (Kody Sutton)
8. San Diego State (Adam Muema)
9. New Mexico (Demarcus Rogers)
10. Hawaii (Will Gregory)

Defense
1. Boise State
2. Colorado State
3. Wyoming
4. Nevada
5. Hawaii
6. Air Force
7. Fresno State
8. San Diego State
9. UNLV
10. New Mexico

Coaching
1. Boise State (Chris Petersen)
2. Nevada (Chris Ault)
3. Air Force (Troy Calhoun)
4. New Mexico (Bob Davie)
5. San Diego State (Rocky Long)
6. Wyoming (Dave Christensen)
7. UNLV (Bobby Hauck)
8. Hawaii (Norm Chow)
9. Fresno State (Tim DeRuyter)
10. Colorado State (Jim McElwain)


QB
1. USC (Matt Barkley)
2. Washington (Keith Price)
3. Utah (Jordan Wynn)
4. Cal (Zach Maynard)
5. Oregon State (Sean Mannion)
6. Washington State (Jeff Tuel)
7. Oregon (Marcus Mariota)
8. Arizona (Matt Scott)
9. UCLA (Brett Hundley)
10. Stanford (Brett Nottingham)
11. Arizona State (Michael Eubank)
12. Colorado (Connor Wood)

RB
1. Oregon (Kenjon Barner)
2. Stanford (Stepfan Taylor)
3. USC (Silas Redd)
4. Cal (Isi Sofele)
5. Utah (John White)
6. Arizona State (Cameron Marshall)
7. UCLA (Johnathan Franklin)
8. Arizona (Ka'Deem Carey)
9. Washington State (Ricky Galvin)
10. Washington (Jason Callier)
11. Oregon State (Malcolm Agnew)
12. Colorado (Tony Jones)

Defense
1. Oregon
2. USC
3. Utah
4. Stanford
5. Cal
6. UCLA
7. Washington
8. Oregon State
9. Colorado
10. Arizona State
11. Arizona
12. Washington State

Coaching
1. Oregon (Chip Kelly)
2. Arizona (Rich Rodriguez)
3. Oregon State (Mike Riley)
4. Utah (Kyle Whittingham)
5. Stanford (David Shaw)
6. Washington State (Mike Leach)
7. Cal (Jeff Tedford)
8. USC (Lane Kiffin)
9. Washington (Steve Sarkisian)
10. UCLA (Jim Mora Jr.)
11. Arizona State (Todd Graham)
12. Colorado (Jon Embree)


QB
1. Arkansas (Tyler Wilson)
2. Georgia (Aaron Murray)
3. Tennessee (Tyler Bray)
4. Alabama (AJ McCarron)
5. Missouri (James Franklin)
6. South Carolina (Connor Shaw)
7. LSU (Zach Mettenberger)
8. Vanderbilt (Jordan Rodgers)
9. Mississippi State (Tyler Russell)
10. Texas A&M (Jamiell Showers)
11. Florida (Jacoby Brissett)
12. Auburn (Kiehl Frazier)
13. Kentucky (Maxwell Smith)
14. Ole Miss (Bo Wallace)

RB
1. South Carolina (Marcus Lattimore)
2. Arkansas (Knile Davis)
3. Vanderbilt (Zac Stacy)
4. LSU (Michael Ford)
5. Alabama (Eddie Lacy)
6. Georgia (Isaiah Crowell)
7. Auburn (Onterrio McCalebb)
8. Texas A&M (Christine Michael)
9. Missouri (Kendial Lawrence)
10. Mississippi State (LaDarius Perkins)
11. Tennessee (Rajion Neal)
12. Florida (Mike Gillislee)
13. Kentucky (CoShik Williams)
14. Ole Miss (Jeff Scott)

Defense
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Florida
4. LSU
5. South Carolina
6. Mississippi State
7. Arkansas
8. Missouri
9. Vanderbilt
10. Auburn
11. Tennessee
12. Texas A&M
13. Kentucky
14. Ole Miss

Coaching
1. Alabama (Nick Saban)
2. LSU (Les Miles)
3. South Carolina (Steve Spurrier)
4. Auburn (Gene Chizik)
5. Georgia (Mark Richt)
6. Missouri (Gary Pinkel)
7. Texas A&M (Kevin Sumlin)
8. Mississippi State (Dan Mullen)
9. Florida (Will Muschamp)
10. Vanderbilt (James Franklin)
11. Tennessee (Derek Dooley)
12. Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze)
13. Arkansas (John L Smith)
14. Kentucky (Joker Phillips)


QB
1. UL-Lafayette (Blaine Gautier)
2. Arkansas State (Ryan Aplin)
3. Troy (Corey Robinson)
4. UL-Monroe (Kolton Browning)
5. Middle Tennessee (Logan Kilgore)
6. Florida International (Jake Medlock)
7. North Texas (Derek Thompson)
8. Western Kentucky (Kawaun Jakes)
9. Florida Atlantic (Graham Wilbert)
10. South Alabama (CJ Bennett)

RB
1. Florida International (Jeremiah Harden)
2. UL-Lafayette (Alonzo Harris)
3. UL-Monroe (Jyruss Edwards)
4. Troy (Shaun Southward)
5. Middle Tennessee (Benny Cunningham)
6. South Alabama (Demetre Baker)
7. Arkansas State (Frankie Jackson)
8. Western Kentucky (Antonio Andrews)
9. North Texas (Brandin Byrd)
10. Florida Atlantic (Xavier Stinson)

Defense
1. Florida International
2. Western Kentucky
3. Arkansas State
4. UL-Lafayette
5. UL-Monroe
6. Florida Atlantic
7. North Texas
8. Troy
9. Middle Tennessee
10. South Alabama

Coaching
1. Troy (Larry Blakeney)
2. Florida International (Mario Cristobal)
3. UL-Lafayette (Mark Huspeth)
4. Arkansas State (Gus Malzahn)
5. Florida Atlantic (Carl Pelini)
6. North Texas (Dan McCarney)
7. Middle Tennessee (Rick Stockstill)
8. South Alabama (Joey Jones)
9. Western Kentucky (Willie Taggart)
10. UL-Monroe (Todd Berry)


QB
1. Louisiana Tech (Colby Cameron)
2. Utah State (Chuckie Keeton)
3. Texas-San Antonio (Eric Soza)
4. Texas State (Shaun Rutherford)
5. New Mexico State (Andrew Manley)
6. San Jose State (David Fales)
7. Idaho (Dominique Blackman)

RB
1. Louisiana Tech (Hunter Lee)
2. Utah State (Kerwynn Williams)
3. Texas State (Terrance Franks)
4. San Jose State (De'Leone Eskridge)
5. New Mexico State (Robert Clay)
6. Idaho (Ryan Bass)
7. Texas-San Antonio (David Glasco II)

Defense
1. Utah State
2. Louisiana Tech
3. San Jose State
4. Idaho
5. New Mexico State
6. Texas State
7. Texas-San Antonio

Coaching
1. Texas-San Antonio (Larry Coker)
2. Texas State (Dennis Franchione)
3. Louisiana Tech (Sonny Dykes)
4. Idaho (Robb Akey)
5. Utah State (Gary Anderson)
6. New Mexico State (DeWayne Walker)
7. San Jose State (Mike MacIntyre)


QB
1. Notre Dame (Tommy Rees)
2. BYU (Riley Nelson)
3. Army (Trent Steelman)
4. Navy (Trey Miller)

RB
1. Notre Dame (Cierre Wood)
2. Army (Raymond Maples)
3. Navy (Gee Gee Greene)
4. BYU (Michael Alisa)

Defense
1. Notre Dame
2. BYU
3. Army
4. Navy

Coaching
1. Notre Dame (Brian Kelly)
2. BYU (Bronco Mendenhall)
3. Navy (Ken Niumatalolo)
4. Army (Rich Ellerson)

2012 PGA Championship Preview



The final major of the 2012 PGA season kicks off on Thursday with the world's best golfers headed to Kiawah Island, South Carolina for the PGA Championship. The Ocean Course at Kiawah presents a challenge unlike most courses on US soil. This course is known for producing gusts of wind off of the Atlantic Ocean a la the British Open. The Ocean Course is as breathtaking as it is difficult. There are sure to be plenty of picturesque moments during the week. 16 different men have won the last 16 majors. Will there be a 17th? Well Vegas has pegged Tiger Woods as the favorite yet again at 6 to 1. Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are next at 15 to 1. Both of those men would love to be taken out of the conversation of best player to never win a major. There are a lot of men capable of winning the Wanamaker Trophy. Here is my list of favorites to win the final major of the 2012 PGA season.

1. Jason Dufner - USA (25 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 8th

Best PGA Championship Finish: 2nd (2011)

Average 2012 Score: 69.89

 

2. Lee Westwood - England (15 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 4th

Best PGA Championship Finish: T3 (2009)

Average 2012 Score: 70.83

 

3. Zach Johnson - USA (40 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 12th

Best PGA Championship Finish: T3 (2010)

Average 2012 Score: 69.99

 

4. Adam Scott - Australia (40 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 6th

Best PGA Championship Finish: T3 (2006)

Average 2012 Score: 70.79

 

5. Luke Donald - England (15 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 1st

Best PGA Championship Finish: T3 (2006)

Average 2012 Score: 70.40

 

6. Rory McIlroy - Northern Ireland (20 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 3rd

Best PGA Championship Finish: T3 (2009, 2010)

Average 2012 Score: 70.32

 

7. Dustin Johnson - USA (30 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 16th

Best PGA Championship Finish: T5 (2010)

Average 2012 Score: 70.43

 

8. Matt Kuchar - USA (30 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 9th

Best PGA Championship Finish: T10 (2010)

Average 2012 Score: 69.66

 

9. Keegan Bradley - USA (60 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 28th

Best PGA Championship Finish: 2011 Champion

Average 2012 Score: 70.13

 

10. David Toms - USA (80 to 1)

World Golf Ranking: 37th

Best PGA Championship Finish: 2001 Champion

Average 2012 Score: 70.91

 

Prediction - Jason Dufner. This man has been a model of consistency this year. It all began when he tied for the lead in the 2011 PGA Championship, before losing in a playoff to Keegan Bradley. Since then he has risen to 8th in the World Golf Rankings. After missing the cut in his 1st tournament of the 2012 season, he has made everyone since. That includes 7 top 10 finishes and 2 victories. He has been knocking on the major championship door, and it could be time for that door to be answered. Jason Dufner will be the 17th different man to win the last 17 majors.